Aldi prepares for Potsdam construction

POTSDAM  Construction will begin soon on an Aldi discount grocery store on Route 11, and the store will likely be open for business by the end of the summer.

I know they want to build this summer, and be open sometime this summer, said Watertown developer Patrick M. Donegan, who owns the property.

The store will be located between Mahoneys Auto Mall and the Tractor Supply Company, just outside downtown Potsdam. The store will go head to head with the Walmart Supercenter, which opened just across the street in 2011.

Aldi is an international chain, with more than 1,000 stores in the United States. It competes against other big-name grocery chains by carrying generic products in order to cut costs.

Aldi already has stores in Ogdensburg and Massena, and has been planning an expansion into Potsdam for more than a year.

The early planning stages of the project began in December 2011. Construction was originally slated for spring 2012, but it took developers longer than initially expected to obtain the necessary permits and approvals. Questions over parking and concerns that nearby residents might be disturbed by noisy deliveries meant obtaining site plan approval took longer than expected. As last summer drew to a close, the decision was made to postpone construction until the snow thawed in the spring.

Patriot Enterprises, Cazenovia, will handle the construction.

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